Living With Intention (Your Guide to Living an Intentional Life)

Life is a crazy hectic mess sometimes isn’t it? Do you ever feel like you are being pulled in 100 different directions, trying accomplish 100 different things at once?

When you attempt to balance too many things at once, you run the risk of not doing any of them with intention. And living with intention is the best way to live a fulfilling and purposeful life!

What Does it Mean to Live Intentionally?

What does it mean to live intentionally? One of the best ways to live a fulfilling life is to live with intention – meaning, the choices you make are made with purpose.

Living an intentional life means that the way you choose to spend your time and the decisions you make are all in service to the purpose you have set for your life.

Your ‘live with intention’ meaning isn’t always going to be the same as everyone else’s. Only you know what you want for your life. And only you can take the steps necessary to make it happen for yourself.

A big part of living with intention is to take ownership and state what your intentions are for your life.

Is your intention to live an extraordinary life full of big crazy dream chasing? Do you want to find your dream job and build your dream home?

Or are your intentions to go to work, come home and watch TV, and never set or reach any worthwhile goals?

Taking intentional steps toward creating the life you want to live is something that we write about often at Joyful Through It All. We believe that living an intentional life is the key to soaking up every ounce of potential that life has to offer.

So, let’s get into 5 ways that you can use to start to live with intention today!

5 Ways to Live with Intention

It is important to remember that living an intentional life will look differently for everyone.

We all have unique goals and ambitions for our lives. But, as long as you are intentionally making decisions that lead you to the life you want to live, you are living an intentional life.

#1. Develop an Intentional Mindset

It takes a specific mindset to live every day with intention. An intentional mindset supports you with making purposeful decisions that lead to living a fulfilling life.

For example, a person with an intentional mindset may make time in their day to purposefully express gratitude to others. Intentionally finding and expressing gratitude over simple things is one easy way to positively impact your day.

An intentional mindset will also help you see obstacles in your life as opportunities for growth. With an intentional mindset, failure is just feedback to help you keep living with intention.

Being disciplined with your thoughts, words, and actions is important when living with intention.

Set a goal to make sure that the language you use reflects your intentions. Build yourself up with positive thoughts that remind you that you can do anything you put your mind to!

#2. Set and Pursue Value Driven Goals

Setting motivating goals for your life is one of the most important parts of living with intention and purpose.

It is important to set SMART and value-driven goals that are meaningful to you. We are more effective in reaching our goals when we are more connected to them on a personal level.

Remember, when you live with intention, all of the decisions you make will help you with actively pursuing the life you want to live.

It is so easy to sit around and complain about why we don’t have the life we want. But living with intention means making a plan to reach your goals and actively taking steps to get you to where you want to be.

If you have no goals or ambitions for your life, it will be very difficult to live with intention!

#3. Find Your Life Passion and Purpose

Living with intention means being deeply connected to your passions and your life purpose.

When we understand our passions and our reason for being, our thoughts and actions help us live out our purpose. This is an important part of living an intentional life!

Start by thinking about what your life passion is. What is the thing that you love doing so much that you lose track of time?

Next, spend some time thinking about your ikigai – the Japanese word for ‘reason for living’. Your ikigai is something that you can do in your life that:

• you are passionate about
• are good at
• can be paid for
• makes a difference in the lives of others

To help you find your ikigai, check out our Finding Your Ikigai Worksheet Package. This printable booklet will guide you through a series of questions that are designed to help you understand and apply your life passion and purpose.

#4. Be Intentional with Your Time

Do you ever feel like time is in short supply? This is a pretty common feeling if you live a hectic lifestyle with many responsibilities! Balancing a family, a job, and a social life can be tough.

But have you ever taken an honest look at how you spend your time? How much of your time do you spend being unintentional?

Think of how much more time you would have if you didn’t mindlessly scroll through social media. Or if you actually made a plan to change your life instead of complaining about it to a friend.

This can be tough to do, because no one wants to admit that they are wasting their time.

But, living an intentional life means using the time you have to move yourself closer toward your goals. This means finding better uses for any time that is being wasted.

Consider taking a social media hiatus, or working toward a goal of complaining less and focusing on taking action.

For more ideas on how you can take advantage of your time, check our our summary of the 5AM Club by Robin Sharma. Starting your day at 5AM could be just what you need to completely transform your life.

#5. Eating with Intention

This idea may sound overly simplistic and cliché, but eating with intention is one of the most important keys to living an intentional life.

When you make intentional decisions about what food you put in your body, you make the purposeful choice to keep yourself healthy and your mind sharp.

Now, eating with intention doesn’t mean cutting out all junk food. It means recognizing that it is okay to treat yourself every once in a while.

Put in the time to think about the impact your eating decisions will have on your life. It is possible to eat well most of the time, while indulging only some of the time.

Pay attention to how your body feels when you are properly hydrated. How does it feel when you reduce your sugar intake? A clear head and a healthy body will make it easier to make the right decisions to live with intention.

What Does it Mean to Live Intentionally In Your Life?

Now that you’ve reflected on living with intention, take some time to ask yourself ‘what does it mean to live intentionally in my life?’

Living an intentional life will look differently depending on your goals, dreams, and passions. But regardless of your path, choosing to live with purpose will help you live a more fulfilling life.

If you need some additional motivation, check out our walkthrough of how to stop making excuses and our list of self-motivation intentional quotes! These collections of powerful quotes always inspire us to live an intentional life!

For more support with living intentionally, be sure to check out our top 20 books for finding your purpose!

Don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family on social media! If you know someone who has been struggling to live an intentional life, this post could be just what they need!

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